Garden of Fate
by Code Live
Summary: After his sacrifice, Bedivere is reincarnated as a normal student in the U.S.(I know, his soul got burnt away but let's just ignore the complications), where he attends Avalon Academy, a rather...interesting high school. He may not remember his time as a knight, but he has a...strange sentiment towards the one known as Artoria... (may change to M for mature or dark themes)
1. Dormant

**I do not own the fate series, this is an AU.**

* * *

"_Brave king of knights, you are the one who saved Britain. You are my shining star. My king, My liege...No, this time, I will return the sword to you._" _Bedivere stated as he then placed the golden sword into his king's hands, as then a bright light shone from where the blade and hands touched._

_The Lion King gave him a confused look, before her eyes then widened in realization. A slight bit of the humanity that was utterly devoid within her eyes seemed to return for a few seconds._

_"I see...I finally remember. That forest. That hill. The face of the crying knight who watched over me to the end. Did you wander all these years out of regret of what happened?"_

_Bedivere could only manage a slow nod, as he felt himself crumbling into dust. "Yes, milord." The Lion King gazed at him. "Well done...You are my last, and most loyal knight. The sacred sword has been returned. Be proud, Bedivere. You have truly...fulfilled the order of your king."_

_He wanted to reply to his king, but his knees gave out, as he collapsed, breaking into dust before he could even say anything. Yet, he still managed a sad, yet satisfied smile on his face. _

_"I will serve you to the end and beyond, my King."_

* * *

_Brrrrringgg!_ Bedivere woke up to his alarm clock ringing right in his ears. "Why..." a questioning look was fixed onto his face, as he pondered about the dream he just had.

_Why do I keep getting the same dream...on and on again? _He wondered what that was about, with a tear coming to his eyes for a reason he had no idea of. "Why does it seem so sad?"

Walking to the bathroom, he then looked over at the silver-white clothes that he often wore. Taking them in his hand, he tucked them on, before grabbing his backpack, and then heading out the door.

After a quick breakfast, he grabbed the car keys, then yelled, "Mom, I'll be taking the smaller car!" "Take care!" "I will!" Bedivere then rushed to the car, before then opening the door and driving out of his neighborhood.

Today for him was Monday, the first day of the second week of high school. Being a junior, he had recently transferred schools as his family had recently transferred their business HQs to another firm, thus needed to move from Britain to the U.S.

He could consider himself rather lucky. As he and his entire family had already registered himself as citizens in the U.S. much earlier than now, entering was not much of a problem, even more so that they had already had a house prepared in the U.S.

He was grateful, but at the same time, he was ambivalent about it, preferring not to spend so much time thinking about it. Parking in the school's parking lot, he then opened his door to the school that he was somewhat familiar with, but still lacked complete understanding of.

The school in question was Avalon high school, a school in the state of California. "Bedivere! Hurry up, dude!" a vaguely familiar voice sounded, as he then spun his head in the direction of the one calling. "Ah, right." Bedivere said, before he then followed Gawain's sprint towards the school's entrance, then into the hallway.

"Halt!" A loud voice resounded across the hallway. Both Gawain and Bedivere stopped with the sound of a strict, piercing voice right behind them. "What the hell are you doing, Gawain?! Running in the hallways like that?! Bedivere, you weren't running, get to your class already."

Bedivere gave a silent nod, as he left Gawain to be scolded by his younger brother, Agravain. From what he had heard, Agravain was a long-time member of the high school student council, and enforced the rules quite vehemently.

"Agravain, I have classes! Lemme go!" Gawain yelled at his younger brother, who held him by the collar of his shirt, keeping him from getting away. "If you have classes, you should've woken up earlier, saving you the need to run! Even Gareth and Gary came earlier than you!"

With their conversation fading from Bedivere's ears, he then entered his homeroom, 11K. "Hey, Bedivere." Someone poked at his shoulder. He looked over. "Oh? I'm really sorry...but who are you exactly again?" he asked.

A book was then slammed into his head. "You dullard!" the person screeched. "How dare you forget about me!" Bedivere scratched his head. "I'm really sorry, but beating my head isn't going to solve matters. Besides, why did you do that? And...who are you?"

"I'm Mordred. I did that since you're a idiot." Mordred folded her arms. Bedivere shrugged. "Alright, Mordred. Well, I'd like to point out that you used 'a' instead of 'an.'" Mordred rolled her eyes. "You're such a grammar Nazi!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Enough, Mordred. Not everybody needs to hear you." a feminine voice in the front spoke, then Mordred obeyed her. Bedivere raised his eyebrows with interest, but said nothing. Apparently Mordred listened to her. Apparently he didn't notice that during the first week. Well, better late than never.

"But anyway, you going to the basketball team tryouts or not?" Mordred whispered to Bedivere. Bedivere nodded. "I suppose I will." Mordred laid back. "I'll enjoy beating the shit out of you with your skinny arms!"

Bedivere didn't have skinny arms, but he didn't bother to correct Mordred in this situation. Instead, he said, "Well, I do wonder how that's possible. After all, isn't there a girls basketball team and a boys basketball team?"

"I'm not a girl, goddamnit!" Mordred yelled at him. Bedivere pointed at her, before pulling her student ID card from her jacket's pocket. "I think your student ID and your ponytail seem to disagree." he replied to her.

"My ID is a liar!" Mordred protested, and Bedivere nodded understandingly. "Well, alright, Mr. Mordred, I'll do as you-" "How dare you call me a boy!" Mordred screeched, as Bedivere sighed as the bell rung, signaling them to head to their tags.

"I'm just going to ignore her from now on." Bedivere muttered to himself. "She's quite annoying, isn't she?" a voice besides him said. Bedivere glanced over. "Tristan, isn't it?" hoping that he had gotten the red-haired boy's name correct.

"Yes, that is my name. Bedivere, right?" Tristan said to him, his eyes seemingly perpetually closed. "Yes. We...share the next class, AP Environmental Science, correct?" Bedivere asked the other junior. "Yes...I hope you have something in mind. After all, Mr. Vorty is quite the boring, yet picky teacher." Tristan murmured.

Bedivere and his classmate entered the classroom, as the entire classroom began to listen to Mr. Vorty rant on and on about global warming, polar bears, and pollution. "Tristan...so, I heard from other classmates that you were on last year's basketball team, correct?"

"Yeah, I was." Tristan said as he still kept the same serene expression, his eyes closed. "Are you interested?" He asked his silver-haired classmate. Bedivere sighed. "Well, I suppose you'd say that I'm interested...do you have any tips?"

Tristan folded his arms and rested on the table, before turning to seemingly look at him, as his eyes were still closed. "Just do your best, Bedivere. That's all I can say, since I did that as well." Bedivere nodded silently, before then asking him after a few moments had passed.

"What would you specialize in, Tristan?" This got Tristan thinking for a few seconds, before he answered. "I'd say that I specialize in free throws. I'm quite adept at aiming the ball and scoring from far distances." Bedivere frowned. "...even with your eyes closed?"

"They aren't closed, Bedivere. They're just rather small." Bedivere looked at his eyes, but no matter what, he just seemed to be always closing his eyes. "...I'll take that, then." Tristan then rested his upper body back on the table. "I'd like to see you enter the team if you can."

Before Bedivere could say a word of gratitude, a loud roar resounded across the room. "TRISTAN!" Mr. Vorty grabbed the young man by the shirt, then hoisted him up. "DO YOU NOT REMEMBER THE RULES?! NO SLEEPING!"

Tristan had a slight frown on his face. "Mr. Vorty, I wasn't sleeping." "That's bull! Then why the heck are your eyes closed?!" Tristan's frown then transformed into an understanding smile. "ah, I see you that you misunderstand as well. My eyes are not closed. They're just very small, so they seem to be closed."

"...How the heck does that work!? You will be sent to the principal's office if you keep on sleeping!" Tristan sighed. "I told you, I'm not sleeping. It's just your own imagination at this point." "Open your eyes!" "They already are." Tristan responded.

Mr. Vorty's voice kept endlessly beating in a futile attempt to try to shake Tristan, but that simply wasn't going to be the case. Bedivere shrugged, then began to take notes as he write down the details on the PPT that was projected onto the board.

"Fine, you wanna see my eyes?" Tristan's eyes opened, to give off a fear-inducing glare right at the roaring teacher. At that, Mr. Vorty stopped yelling. "Alright, then. Back to the subject at hand, class..."

Bedivere nudged his classmate. "So…wait, what exactly are you doing?" He looked over at Tristan, who was sketching the strings of a harp, before noticing his curious gaze. "Do you play the harp, Tristan?"

Tristan let out a small, serene, smile, but yet it still had a slight hint of warmth in it. "I suppose I do. It's just a bit heavy at times." Bedivere thought of Tristan sitting upon a chair, while letting the heavy instrument rest upon his shoulder, as he let his fingers flow across the instrument's strings.

"Have you ever gone to the school orchestra, Tristan?" Bedivere asked him. Tristan lay back a bit. "I would consider if they weren't so incompetent, and I also have the MMA club to dedicate myself to. Do you play an instrument, Bedivere?"

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, I play the violin quite well. MMA club…I think I signed up for that." He murmured, before placing a thoughtful look on his face. "So, you can both qualify for a team and then participate in a club?" Tristan nodded. "Yeah, that's possible, just hope that you have the time for both of them."

With that, the bell rung, and it was time for the students to head to their next classes. "Well, so Tristan, you're gonna be there for the basketball tryouts, right?" Tristan nodded. "Yeah, see you there."

* * *

"Bedivere!" a figure caught up to him, while Bedivere was running around the track. Bedivere couldn't comprehend how Gawain had already caught up a lap ahead of him, as fast as he himself had ran. Sure, Gawain had a bit of a head start, but Bedivere was no slouch either.

However, it just seemed that Gawain was just so much better than everyone at this point that even. "I yield, Gawain...can I call you Gorilla?" He groaned as he collapsed besides a few other students who had given out.

Gawain chuckled at the nickname. "I see you've already learnt about my nickname, eh? Sure, call me Gorilla if you want, I don't mind. For such a new student, you sure do learn things pretty fast." Bedivere scratched his head. "Thanks, I suppose. So, how did you get so fast?" Gawain scratched his head. "I'd suppose it might be my genetics."

Bedivere glanced at him. "I'm sorry to say this, but that sounds a bit like bull." Gawain shrugged. "I get that a lot. But I really don't have any better explanations that I can think of…" Bedivere's brow creased a bit. "Judging from what you just said, you don't really know how this is possible, right?"

Gawain shrugged. "Know it or not, the fact that I can do this is now pretty clear it by now." He replied, before stretching by pressing his hands against the back of his waist from behind. "So, you interested in anything?"

Bedivere shook his head. "They aren't really worth mentioning since they're not very interesting to me as for now." Gawain lay down besides him. "Hey, you ever heard of Arturia?"

Bedivere had a thoughtful look on his face, before he responded. "Maybe, but since there's so much to catch up on, I haven't paid so much attention." Gawain got up as he kicked a soccer ball towards Bedivere, who tried to catch it with his legs and missed, and it hit his chest instead, though it evoked little reaction.

"Well, Bedivere, I guess I'll let you find out yourself." Gawain said. Bedivere frowned. "…what's that supposed to mean?" Gawain chuckled, as he bounced the ball with his feet and head.

"Eh, nothing much."

"So…will I be facing one of the basketball team in order to get accepted?" Bedivere asked. Gawain pursed his lips a bit. "Well, that'll probably be the case. I suppose that the former members may get an advantage due to having much more experience working together and know the coach better."

"Who would I have to watch out for the most?" Bedivere wondered. "You?" Gawain laughed softly, before stopping. "You flatter me. Well, you'd have to watch out for me, but it'd be better if you watch out for Lancelot even more. It really depends on the day and mood for me in effectiveness on the court. He's far more consistent in terms of his effectiveness."

Bedivere kicked the soccer ball back to Gawain. "Good to know, then. See you at the tryouts."

* * *

_Beeep! _"Tryouts over! Y'all are dismissed!" the coach yelled as the tryouts ended. Bedivere resisted the urge to take off his jersey, as he knew that modesty was quite important in a setting like this. Glancing to the right, he could see Gawain, Tristan, the purple haired guy who was apparently Lancelot, talking to a couple of girls who had been watching the tryouts.

_I suppose it's no surprise. They are pretty ripped, after all. I could barely keep up with Tristan, and I don't even want to think about Lancelot. _Bedivere thought to himself, as he hurried over to where his locker was, opening it and reaching for his water bottle.

As he drank from it, he then noticed a girl sitting by the bench, all alone, in a white t-shirt and a blue skirt. Wondering if he should approach her, he decided it would be best if he first asked Gawain or Tristan about her.

"Hey, Tristan, Gawain!" Bedivere called as he ran over, as the two noticed him. Tristan waved, gesturing him to come over. "Lance. This's the guy Gawain and I've been talking about. You saw how he fared with me, right?"

Lancelot was a bit distracted with a girl he was talking to. Gawain was also enjoying the company of a girl, as he had his arm around her. Bedivere gave an awkward laugh as the two kept on talking, ignoring him.

"Are…they like this, Tristan? Are…you like this?" Bedivere asked the red-haired junior. Tristan shook his head. "Nay, I've only had eyes for my beloved, not this bimbo over here. In fact, I'm just only entertaining her so I don't hurt her feelings." Then his eyes opened in realization that he had just said that out loud.

The girl who had just been talking with Tristan slapped him in the face, before going off in a huff. Bedivere stood there with a presence of awkwardness as Tristan pulled out his phone and switched its camera on, to see if his face was terribly injured or not, before putting it back into his pocket.

"Ah, so, Bedivere…what have you come here for?" Tristan asked as the silver-haired teenager sat down beside him. Bedivere stretched himself, as he then turned his head towards him. "Alright, Tristan, I'm just going to be blunt and honest towards you. Do…you know that girl over there?"

Tristan's eyebrows were raised, but his eyes still didn't open. "Her name's Artoria, the older twin sister of Mordred, the girl who was bugging you this morning. She was the president of the MMA club last year, and she'll likely still be the president of the MMA club this year."

Bedivere raised his eyebrows. So she would most likely be his club president. "So...is she often alone like this?" Tristan held a comb to his hair, as he brushed it. "Depends. Sometimes Mordred hangs around her, sometimes she doesn't. She's somewhat well-liked, but she doesn't often laugh, and her seriousness kinda just turns people off. I won't deny that she's a good leader, though."

Kneading his hands, Bedivere turned towards Tristan. "Should I go talk to her? She seems a bit lonely…" Tristan had a bit of a soft smile on his face. "If you want to go, then go. She's not the most sociable, but I doubt she'd bite you."

"If you say so." Bedivere rose up, as he tied his loose shoelaces together. "Thanks, Tristan." Tristan hummed a melody, nodding as a sign of acknowledgement. Walking over, Bedivere then sat down next to the blond-haired girl.

"So…how're you doing? Is there anything I can help you with?" Bedivere said, as the blond girl noticed him. "I guess I'm doing fine, the tryouts really weren't as interesting as last year's…" She traced a star with her finger on thin air, before a small smile.

"I suppose you could help me by talking to me. There's still an hour before school ends, and there's really not much to do besides study, but since it's just the 2nd week, there's not much homework, so it'd be nice if you talked to me." She said, in a calm fashion and with an aura of mild seriousness.

"I'd be happy to." Bedivere replied. "So…if I remember correctly, your name's Artoria, right?" Artoria nodded. "Yeah, that's my name. Do we share a class? I feel like you're a bit familiar. Oh, and on a second thought, what's your name? Sorry for asking this late."

Bedivere nodded. "Yes, I think we share the same English class and History class. My name is Bedivere. It's nice to meet you, Artoria." Artoria gave him a smile that seemed slightly forced, but at the same time, still tried to be genuine. "It's nice to meet you too, Bedivere."

A moment of silence and acknowledgement was shared between the two, before Bedivere started talking once more. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're interested in basketball, aren't you?" Artoria nodded. "Yeah. I just decided to stop by to see how the boys were doing, since the girls' tryouts are tomorrow."

She then noticed the ball that he was patting slightly. "Mind if I play with you?" Bedivere was about to say that he didn't mind, but then noticed her skirt. "Are you sure you're okay with it, with only your skirt?" Artoria looked down. "It's okay, I'm wearing pants underneath."

Getting up alongside Bedivere, Artoria could see that Bedivere was much taller than her by quite a few centimeters, but it didn't really bother her in any way. "Should we keep count of the scores?" Bedivere asked her. Artoria shrugged. "I'm fine with it."

Bedivere wondered if this was even fair, as she was much shorter than her, but he then let the thought brush aside. She had asked to play with him, after all. _Guess Tristan was correct. She's doesn't laugh a lot. _He thought in his head, before he began to dribble towards the hoop.

Artoria moved in front of his way, to block him from his path to the hoop. Noticing her movement, Bedivere faked a crossover to the right, before bursting towards the left, as he dribbled towards the hoop. However, within two steps, he realized that the ball wasn't returning to his hands, and he looked backwards to see Arturia dribbling the ball out of the 3rd line, before bursting towards him.

He blocked her path, as she faked a crossover to the right, then made a throw towards the hoop. However, Bedivere was just taller than her, as he then caught the ball and dribbled out of the 3rd point line.

Artoria bent her knees as she went after him. "Using your height to your advantage, Bedivere?" she said without any emotion in her eyes, with a focused expression. Bedivere shrugged. "If you're going to go for the girl's basketball team, I believe you can be able to find a way around my height."

_He wasn't incorrect,_ she thought. She was shorter than him, but she knew that she herself was remarkably fast. She rubbed her hands, deciding to switch up her tactics a bit. _After all, as I used to be on the girl's basketball team, I'm not exactly used to playing with people who were much taller than me. _

_However, that disadvantage that I have likely also applies in a different way to Bedivere, but in that he probably isn't used to playing against very short but fast people. Maybe I can use that to my advantage._

* * *

Artoria weaved past Bedivere, bringing the ball behind her back before sidestepping and turning her body around to match the ball. Bedivere moved to the right to try to intercept her, but she had already burst past him, before she then jumped up, and threw it into the hoop.

"That'll be 7 for me." Artoria said. Bedivere wiped his brow, before they passed the ball to each other, as he took the ball this time. As he looked at Artoria bursting towards him, he tossed the basketball right past her shoulder as she ran towards him, causing her to come to a stop, costing her a few precious seconds, before dribbling and tossing the basketball in.

"9 for me." Bedivere said, as he then took the ball to the center, before passing to Artoria. Artoria took it, before dribbling around the third point line, and then faked to the right, before going for the left.

At this point, Bedivere wasn't going to have such a familiar trick work on him, as he then stepped towards his right, blocking her pathway. Artoria's serious expression never changed, as she then jumped up, for a throw towards the hoop.

However, Bedivere then jumped up, knocking the ball from the air, before dribbling out from the third point, and then noticed that she had already caught up to him by now. Dribbling between his legs, he then prepared to burst into a run.

What he didn't account for was that his foot landed right on the basketball, and then he slipped, and fell face first right onto the floor, his arms positioned well enough to cover his face as he crashed onto the floor.

The ball bounced off as Artoria walked towards Bedivere, her mouth slowly forming a giggle, then she tried to hide her giggles with her hand. "Are you alright, Bedivere?" she asked as she helped him up, hoisting his right arm with her right hand, while her left hand covered her mouth.

Bedivere groaned as he propped himself up on a seat, stretching himself out. Artoria tried to suppress her giggles, looking at his entire dirtied and sweaty form. "Where does it hurt, Bedivere?"

Cracking and forcing a half-smile, Bedivere groaned, "My...everywhere." Laughter could be heard, as Mordred ran over. "That was FUCKING hilarious, Bedivere!" she yelled while laughing.

Artoria gave her a disapproving look. "Mordred, stop laughing. It's not nice." Mordred kept on laughing loudly, as her laughs filled the entire basketball court. "And you have the audacity to say that?! Sis, you're giggling as well!"

Artoria still again, tried to hide her smiles and giggles, before she then patted Mordred on the head, shocking her to the point that Mordred was almost frozen, paralyzed in place.

It was as if Mordred's mind had encountered a glitch, as the only thought that ran throughout her mind was: _Sis pat me...Sis pat me...Sis pat me...Sis pat me... _as her jaw dropped and her eyes seemed to be empty with shock. Her sister rarely showed any affection towards her, so such an action surprised her so much that it was like she'd turned into a statue.

"So...Bedivere, I think you really need some rest." Artoria started. Bedivere could only give a groan as a response. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked him. Bedivere propped himself up.

"Well, I think that'll be it for today. The bell's about to ring, I think it's about time to go home." he pointed towards the clock. Artoria looked at it. "Is there anything else I can help you with?" she asked, her face slowly fading from a humored smile to her normal, serious expression.

"No, nothing that I can think of now..." Bedivere murmured. A thought then came up to his mind. "You were the president of the MMA club, correct?" Artoria nodded slowly. "And your point is?"

"Well, see you at Wednesday afternoon, Artoria." Bedivere said as he packed his stuff up, and walked off, waving. Saber waved back, before dragging a still comatose Mordred with her.

* * *

**Well, I suppose that ends the chapter there. I've checked for mistakes or any signs of OOC, but I don't know if I've caught all of them. If there are, please either review or PM me, do give all criticisms that you want.**

**But anyway, what do you think? Please review, I'd love to hear what you think and I'll try to reply to reviews in the next chapter.**


	2. Vision

**This is an AU. A Camelot play-through is recommended.**

* * *

"...I really don't know what to feel now." Bedivere said as he looked at the announcement wall at Wednesday during lunchtime, looking at the new basketball team's members. "I barely...JUST BARELY...got in." he whispered to himself.

Gaiwan looked for his own name, before sighing. "Lancelot is on the top, isn't he?" he said, before he looked for Bedivere's name. "Oh, you're there...right at the bottom." Gawain commented to his friend.

Bedivere sighed. "You know, I'm really not sure how to feel about being the worst player in a really good team..." He said, as he walked down the hallway with Gawain towards the cafeteria, before passing by Agravain, who was this time dragging Mordred to detention.

"I guess you'll have to formally introduce yourself to your teammates this time. After all, you didn't put up a very good picture before you went off to play with Artoria." Gawain commented, as Bedivere scratched his head sheepishly.

"Well, twelve in total...Lancelot, Gawain, Agravain, Kay, Percieval, Tristan, Bors, Lamorak, Palamedes, Gaheris, Merlin, and me..." Bedivere said as he looked at the photo he had taken of the list of boys' basketball team.

Gawain added, "Oh, and feel free to make fun of Merlin. He deserves it." Bedivere frowned, before putting his phone back into his jacket's pocket. "I'd say that I'll decide later." A chuckle escaped from Gawain's mouth, as he added unhelpfully, "Oh, and once he was caught looking at futa."

Bedivere looked at him cluelessly. "What...exactly is this 'futa?'" Gawain cheerfully said with a laugh, "Basically girls with dicks."

His eye twitching, and his hand coming to his face to hide his embarrassment, Bedivere let out a mix of whine and a groan. "...I did not need to know that." he said, before he approached the line with Gawain, and began to wait for the line to approach the food.

"Well, it's good to know now than later. People are going to think that you're a spineless virgin." Gaiwan commented, before then noticing Bedivere's raised eyebrows, and then let out a sheepish expression.

Bedivere said to him, "Um...I am a virgin...and I'm not sure how comfortable I am in discussing topics like this. I mean, give it time, but...yeah." he then used his student card to pay for the lunch, before following Gawain to where the basketball team sat.

Bedivere sat down between Gawain and a purple-haired boy, with Tristan in front of him. "So...hi guys?" he said awkwardly, as a few heads turned to look at him. "I'm Bedivere, and...yes, I'm probably the worst player here."

The purple haired-boy known as Lancelot shrugged. "Hey, you had to compete with a dozen others. Getting in here means you're already pretty damn good." Bedivere looked at him. "Well, thank you...I feel slightly better."

Tristan delicately sliced his slice of pizza with a fork and a knife, before putting the small slice into his mouth as if he was eating steak, then talking after swallowing it. "It's the newcomer phase. It'll wear off pretty soon."

"Yeah, I suppose that'll be the ca-wait, there's something-" Bedivere turned around rapidly, as he felt something wet in his jacket, before he felt his elbow come in contact with someone's groin. The figure behind Bedivere gasped in pain, before rolling back and closing his legs.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry..." Bedivere said as he hurried over, helping the other white-haired boy up. "Are you okay?" A series of laughter could be heard from the basketball team's table, as one of them accidentally spit out his water.

"You FUCKING deserved that, Merlin!" the blond haired senior known as Kay yelled at his teammate while yelling, before walking over. "Merlin, this is Bedivere. Bedivere, this is Merlin, basically our troll." Merlin groaned, as he looked at Bedivere, who seemed quite willing to help his condition despite the fact that his back was quite wet.

"You know, I was expecting a much more intense reaction...I could tell that was on accident..." Merlin groaned, as he struggled to stand. Bedivere had an innocently questioning look on his face, before asking, "Are you talking to me?"

Merlin replied, "Yes, I'm talking to you. But seriously, why aren't you that mad that I poured water on you?" Bedivere looked to his own backside. "I suppose I'd just run for a few dozen minutes outside in the sun and it'll dry up."

He then lent his shoulder as support for Merlin. "Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" he asked, as Kay sighed. "What the heck is with Bedivere, being so nice?" he asked his other teammates as he sat back at the table.

Tristan shrugged, as Gawain shrugged as well. "Beats me. Maybe he'll grow out of it." Another figure sat down at the end of the table, his stone-cold expression and his black hair decorating his head, as he ate his food, barely talking.

Bedivere recognized that he was Agravain, the same boy that had dragged Gawain off for running in the hallways. "...he doesn't seem to be the sociable type." he remarked, as he supported Merlin and hobbled with him towards the nurse's office.

"No shit, sherlock..." Merlin slurred, as he then stepped on his own long hair, making him scream in pain. "OHMYHAIR!" Merlin yelled, as Bedivere then caught his stumbling form. "Dude, easy man. I'm not sure if you're even suited for walking at this point. You know what, I'll piggyback you."

Merlin whined, "This is embarrassing..." Bedivere looked over at him, and commented, "Given what your own team has said about you, you've probably been through worse." Merlin didn't say anything in response, with only a sulky grin on his face.

While carrying Merlin, Bedivere then noticed a familiar figure, Artoria. "Hey, Artoria!" He waved to her. The blond-haired girl waved, back, then raised her eyebrows at the sight of Merlin on Bedivere, and walked over. "...okay, what's the meaning of this?"

Bedivere looked at Merlin. "He tried to prank me, and I got a bit jumpy and kneed him in the crotch. I'm taking him to the nurse's office." he concluded, as Artoria stiffled a few giggles. "He deserved it." she simply said, as she walked off.

"Altria! What did I ever do to you that made you so cold towards me?!" Merlin bemoaned, as he shouted after her to catch her attention. Artoria simply looked over at Merlin, and said to him, "You've done enough."

Bedivere sighed before opening the door to the nurse's office, and put Merlin on one of the beds. "What exactly did you do to her to make her be so cold towards you? What do you think?" he asked, as Merlin still kept clenching his legs.

Merlin sighed, before burying his face into the pillow. Muffled words came out of the pillow that sounded like "Die dent per toota dicks ron DiEm," before Bedivere rolled him over.

"May you repeat that? Mumbling isn't going to get us anywhere." Bedivere said to the other boy.

Speaking in a far more clear way this time, Merlin repeated, "I sent her futa pics on DM."

Bedivere's eye twitched, before he then left the nurse's office without saying a word.

As soon as he returned to the cafeteria table, the blond-haired senior looked at him. "Well, thanks for getting rid of him." Bedivere sighed as he kept on eating his pizza. "It was an accident...what was your name again?"

"I'm Kay." the senior said, as Bedivere looked at him, before a sudden image of the person before him getting skewered by a decorated weapon crossed his mind for a millisecond. Bedivere blinked, and realized that he was staring, and diverted his gaze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare...I suppose I accidentally lost my train of thought?" Bedivere apologized, as he took a drink of water. Kay smiled. "Do I happen to remind you of someone?"

Bedivere sworn he could've seen or known him extremely well at some point, but yet it was his first time seeing him...he decided to answer the question anyway. "Hm...maybe, Gawain?" Gawain looked over at Kay, and chuckled. "I mean, he's not entirely wrong."

Kay shrugged. "I mean, he is my stepsisters' cousin...so sort of, sort of not?" Bedivere nodded as a sign of understanding him, and then asked, "So...who are your stepsisters?"

The answer came from Kay, "Oh, they're Artoria and Mordred." Bedivere nodded slowly. "I see."

* * *

"Gah!" Bedivere grunted as he blocked a roundhouse kick from Tristan with his forearm, who shifted himself backwards while holding his hands up. The two of them were wearing protective armor and paddings to prevent any serious injuries.

He then blocked a side kick from Tristan before dodging a punch towards his chest by moving to the side, before doing a front kick towards his stomach, which Tristan barely dodged by jumping backwards.

As Bedivere moved in, Tristan bent down before doing a sweeping kick, nearly knocking Bedivere over as Tristan's leg collided with Bedivere's left foot. Bedivere jumped to the right, as he then waited for Tristan to get up.

Tristan did a flying kick at Bedivere, as Bedivere moved to the side, and then did a side kick as soon as Tristan landed, knocking him to the ground. "Tristan, just because it looks cool doesn't mean it's going to be very effective." Bedivere said as he waited for Tristan to get up.

Stretching himself as he got up, Tristan mumbled, "Worth it." he said as he wiped sweat from his brow. "Well, I guess that was the final point for you. You've got 5 points, you win this round, then." he said, as he went to where their backpacks were to get a drink.

Bedivere followed, as he then noticed a smaller figure in a stance against a taller figure. Artoria glared at Merlin. "You just don't want to attack, don't you, Merlin?" Merlin shrugged, then replied to her words, "Hey, I have my own ways of fighting."

Artoria then did a front-snap kick towards Merlin, as Merlin then danced out of the way, before running backwards as Artoria followed him. "STAND AND FIGHT, MERLIN!" she yelled, as she began to be annoyed by the fact that Merlin was not playing fair nor did he seem to be interested.

Merlin stuck out his tongue. "NAAHH!" He yelled back, before he began running as soon as Artoria went after him with a flying kick. Merlin backed away. "OMG, Artoria! That seems to be a hamburger that I see!"

Artoria whipped her head around. "Where?!" she yelled, her voracity and love of food instinctively kicking in, before realizing that Merlin had been screwing with her, and had taken the time to run away. "Okay, Merlin! That's it!" she yelled, before she then leapt towards Merlin.

Merlin was about to run away again, but this time, she had caught ahold of his foot, and pulled on it, resulting in Merlin slipping and falling. Merlin's eyes widened as he looked upwards at an extremely pissed Artoria.

Bedivere and Tristan watched as Artoria began to slam Merlin around right onto the mats several times before leaving him whimpering on a mat. Tristan's eyes for once seemed to be actually open, and Bedivere was just watching with wide eyes.

Artoria dusted her hands, before heading over to Lancelot, who was sparring with Gawain with wooden swords. Lancelot held his sword as Gawain did so as well, before charging and doing a diagonal slash at Gawain, who blocked it and stepped backwards into the sunlight.

Stepping into the sunlight, Gawain felt a surge of energy, before he then executed a front-snap kick, knocking Lancelot backwards, who then gritted his teeth and clenched his stomach. While he had protection, the kick still hurt anyway.

Lancelot thrust his sword at Gawain, who brought his own down to parry Lancelot's, before Lancelot then brought back his sword, then heaving it upwards and bringing it down on Gawain. Gawain blocked Lancelot's sword from up high, before sliding it forwards to smack Lancelot in the face, then as Lancelot began to to falter, Gawain, still in the sun's rays, thrust his sword and hit Lancelot right in the stomach, knocking him down.

Gawain held his sword up high, as he twirled it, then brought it downwards. "5 points. I suppose I win this time, Lancelot." Lancelot wiped his brow, as he smiled. "Well, I guess it really just depends on the weather. I guess your next opponent is...Kay, then."

Bedivere watched as Gawain approached his next opponent, before Artoria tapped his foot with a wooden sword. "Your turn, Bedivere. You won against Tristan. Now it's your turn." Bedivere stretched himself as he put on a kendo helmet, then took a wooden sword as well.

"Very well, then." Bedivere said, as he examined Artoria as they stepped into the ring. She was smaller, but now, instead of basketball, this gave her an advantage as she was a smaller target and her strength was unnatural high.

"Don't end up like Merlin." Artoria said to him as she held her sword with her right hand, while placing it horizontally before her chest and head. Bedivere held his sword with both hands, and held it vertically in front of himself.

Bursting forward, Bedivere barely blocked the downwards diagonal slash by moving his sword towards the left, before Artoria then drew back and did a diagonal slash upwards at Bedivere's right.

Bedivere jumped backwards, it nearly missing his body, before lunging with a slash towards her stomach. Artoria lurched backwards, before slamming her sword towards Bedivere's helmet. Bedivere's eyes widened, before tumbling towards the left, rolling before getting up.

Panting, he looked at her. "Weren't you going to attack me while I was rolling?" he asked her. Artoria shook her head. "I'm not going to attack you when you can't defend yourself. After all, this has been pretty enjoyable."

Bedivere nodded, before then bringing his sword up vertically at Artoria, who moved backwards, then lunged in, getting a solid hit on Bedivere's armor with a slash. "One point." she said before Bedivere attempted to slam his sword into her side, sending her moving back.

"Guess I shouldn't play around." Bedivere said as he locked swords with Artoria, only to see her fist coming towards him. Using her sword as support, he pushed himself backwards, before he then realized that her sword was coming for his chest.

Bending himself backwards, he narrowly dodged the blade, before then lunging forwards and slashing her armored stomach, before rushing behind her as she held her stomach. It only counted as one point, but did it sure hurt.

_"However, despite her smaller size making her a smaller target, I still have the advantage in reach. That may be able to compensate for my overall larger size."_ Bedivere thought, before he then began to thrust his sword forwards.

Artoria dodged the first one, then the second thrust, before then blocking the third thrust, and bringing both of their blades down, before then parrying and jumping back. Bedivere brought his sword to his right side, before charging at Artoria.

Artoria looked at him, as her thought came into her mind. _"Hm...if I can be able to dodge his blade, to move to the side, then it'll leave him with an opening in his left side for me to give a slash down on his helmet, giving me two points."_

As she moved forwards, and Bedivere did as well, she raised her sword, before pivoting to the side, and prepared to bring her sword down. However, Bedivere brought his sword from his right to the left, slamming it into her side and knocking her off her feet. "Two."

Artoria landed in a crouch, as Bedivere waited for her to stand up. She pointed her wooden sword at him, before thinking to herself. _"He used the length of his arm to his advantage...I must get in closer so it'll be harder for him._

Bedivere examined his smaller opponent. _"She by now should already realize that I have the strength advantage, with that blow of mine. If she is wary of that, then I cannot expect her to run into another trap of mine."_

Artoria's eyebrows tightened, as Bedivere bit his lip. With her great speed, Artoria burst forwards, as Bedivere swung down his sword with his right hand, hitting her back. "Three." he said, before realizing that she was already beyond his guard.

Her green eyes stared in to his own, as she pushed his sword hand away, before unleashing a flurry of strikes. "2." she said as she thrust her sword towards Bedivere's armor, knocking him back, before then striking him two more times as Bedivere clutched where his liver was, in shock. There was nothing extremely serious, but boy, did it hurt.

As she raised her sword for the final blow, Bedivere then blocked her sword with his right gauntlet, before dropping his sword into his left hand and unleashing a powerful slash. Artoria stumbled back, as the two juniors looked at each other, panting.

"You know, Artoria...I genuinely enjoy this...I really don't care whether if I win or lose now." Bedivere commented as he still held himself in a battle stance. "You know, it all seems familiar...does it to you?" he said to her.

Artoria coughed, before she replied, "I share your sentiment there, Bedivere. Familiar?...I wouldn't disagree." sweat dripped down from her face. "Will you face my strongest blow, Bedivere?"

Bedivere nodded. "Then don't expect me to hold back." he replied, as they walked towards the ends of the ring, then turned around to look at each other. "Ready when you are, Artoria." "As to you, Bedivere."

Artoria charged, as Bedivere did as well. Holding his sword to his left shoulder by his right hand, he swung it upwards, before his eyes widened in surprise, then softened with a satisfied smile, as Artoria kicked his sword upwards and knocked it out of his grip, then brought her sword down.

Bedivere gasped, as he collapsed from sheer fatigue. Artoria helped him up, as she grunted under his weight, then collapsed as well. "Kay, a little help?" There was no response from Kay, as he had already been beaten by Gawain and was drinking a bottle of water.

"Bedivere, you fought well..."

"I know...thanks."

* * *

"Well, I suppose you're still the president of the MMA club." Bedivere said to Artoria as they made their way to the parking lot. A few meters away, Gareth was whining to Gawain about why he hadn't won against Artoria. Bedivere then asked, "Does this happen all the time when deciding on a president?"

Artoria nodded. "Yes, the president is decided by survival of the fittest. It wasn't my idea, I suppose it's just a tradition that comes with this school." Bedivere looked towards her. "Well, Artoria...I've been wanting to tell you something."

Looking towards Bedivere, she had a questioning look on her face. "What is it?" Before Bedivere could answer, a net came upon his head, as a yell could be heard from behind him. "Ooh, look, sis! I just caught a wild Bedivere!"

Mordred was grinning as she held the net, as Bedivere looked at her. "Artoria, is your sis always this annoying?" Artoria nodded, as she then told Mordred to take the net off Bedivere. "Please don't disturb us, Mordred."

With a whine, Mordred gave Artoria the puppy eyes, but Artoria did not relent. "Fine, I'll be going first." She said, before she got into her family's car with Kay. Before Artoria noticed, they were already driving away.

"So, what were you going to tell me?" she asked Bedivere, as he began to panic mentally. _"What..was I going to say? Gotta say something...gotta say something...GAH, I FORGOT! well, maybe this..." _He stammered a little, as he asked her, "Could you teach me how to tie my hair like yours?"

Artoria gave a gentle smile. "Sure, Bedivere." she said as she let loose her hair. Bedivere felt his mind give a questioning expression, as if this was so foreign to him that he felt like it was unnatural, but within seconds he brushed away the thought.

"Like this...then this..." she said as she slowly showed him the steps. "And...done! There you go, Bedivere." Bedivere turned towards her, as he hadn't been entirely facing her.

"Hm...how do I look, Artoria?" he asked as he brushed his hair. Artoria smiled. "You look great, Bedivere. So...I suppose that I have to go home now." she said, before noticing that her car had already been driven away by Mordred and Kay.

Bedivere looked over. "Artoria, do you need a ride?" Artoria looked at him. She knew that he was definitely nice, but she wasn't exactly too fond of riding in the same car with someone she had just met a few days. Besides, her home was just a mile away. She could walk. "No, I'm good. Thanks for the offer, though."

Shrugging, Bedivere nodded. "Understandable." he was happy that she wasn't too gullible. As he meant her no harm, to know that she was a smart girl, or at least a sensible one, was reassuring. He waved to her. "See you tomorrow!"

Artoria waved back. "You too!"

* * *

"Gosh, I hate these trunks..." Bedivere muttered as he realized that some of the swimwear that the school was selling to the boys were speedos. Merlin chuckled as he heard Bedivere's annoyed comment. "What, didn't bring your own on the first day we have to go down?"

Bedivere replied, "I brought them alright. It's just that the tightness doesn't sit well with me." last week, Thursday, they only had to listen to the head swimming coach tell them about the course, today they actually had to go down for a dip.

"Did you take any swimming classes before, Bedivere?" Merlin said as he went into one of the shower rooms to change. "Eh, some. What's your swimming cap colour?" Bedivere asked as he changed into a pair of black trunks.

"Red." was Merlin's reply. "Blue." was Bedivere's reply to him. As soon as the two came out, their words were exactly the same. "Damn, you're pretty ripped. whoa, jinx. Okay, stop, that's enough." Bedivere sighed, as he then took a shirt out and wore it on over his torso.

As the two came out of the changing room, Bedivere remembered which class he was assigned to, the Sea Lions. "I'll be heading towards where the Sea Lions are. what about you?" Merlin stretched. "The Dolphins, not too far from you."

"Yeah, so, you still hurting from what Artoria did to you yesterday?" Bedivere asked. Before Merlin could answer, something caught Bedivere's gaze that made Merlin stop his answer in mid sentence. "What...are you looking at...exactly?"

Bedivere stared for a moment at Artoria, who was in a black-coloured swimsuit. While it wasn't a bikini, it was still skintight enough to make him blush slightly. Merlin wasn't going to let this go, and nudged Bedivere. "See something you like?"

Realizing that he was staring, Bedivere turned even redder as he positioned his line of sight away from Artoria and instead towards Merlin. "Please don't rub it in..." he whispered to Merlin, who shook his head with a smirk.

"No fucking way, Bedi. Hey, Artoria! Guess what Bedivere has to-" before he could finish his sentence, much to Bedivere's relief, he slipped and fell into the pool. Bedivere bent down to get him, before being dissuaded by Artoria shaking her head.

"He can get up by himself. Besides, what was it that you were going to tell me?" She asked. Bedivere shook his head, as he found himself a seat. "N-nothing in particular. Merlin was just being a troll." he denied it.

Artoria sighed. "You're a really bad liar, you know that?" Bedivere scratched his head sheepishly. "I get that a lot." he sighed, as he then stopped talking, his face still red, in which his desire to surpress did not help one bit.

"You find me appealing in this swimsuit, don't you?" Artoria said, in a nonchalant tone that took Bedivere a few seconds to fully register. Bedivere's cheeks turned from red to pink, as his mind scrambled for safety, as he had little to no idea what to do.

"...yes." he admitted, obviously embarrassed. Artoria replied in the same nonchalant tone, "There's nothing wrong with such a thing, as long as you don't act inappropriately." Bedivere stayed silent for a while, trying to fight the urge to slam his burning face into the water.

"I mean, it's not like I really like LIKE you or anything, I haven't really gotten to know you that much, but I guess you look good..." He clamored awkwardly, as Artoria kept the same calm face. "Look, I already told you, it's not a problem for me. I don't really mind that much."

"Oh...kay..." Bedivere mumbled, as he then felt the furnace inside him cool down. "So...do you have anything in mind? Anything you want to talk about?" he asked her. There wasn't really anyone whom he really knew in the Sea Lions besides Artoria.

"None that I can think of as for now..." Artoria replied as she got up, accidentally bumping into Bedivere, before saying, "My apologies." Bedivere waved it off. "It's alright..." he said, before something clouded his mind.

_Finding himself standing on top of a wall, he looked at the fair maiden before him. Oh, it was Artoria, even he could see that clearly. "As long as you live, milord, Britain shalt never perish, and suffering shalt never prevail."_

_He couuld see her stern face move along with her head, shaking. "That isn't true. Camelot and its surroundings may be flourishing, but the rest are all in ruins. Even if Camelot could accommodate the destroyed villages, their lifestyle wouldn't come back. There is no future in sheltering the people, as the noose will eventually tighten."_

_Bedivere had never seen a smile from her, but he then decided to ask a question that had been clouding his mind for so long. "My king...why did you choose a knight as worthless as me to be a knight of the round?"_

_She had a frown on her face, as she said, "You believe you're unworthy due to your inferiority? How foolish. The same goes for me as well, Bedivere. In build, I'm no match for others. In swordplay, many best me. However, bonds should not be measured by strength and weaknesses alone. Friend or foe, good and evil, both benefit and have detriments. You all have different roles to play."_

_Bedivere remained silent, as she kept on saying. "The saxon invaders may be our enemies, but are they inherently evil? I doubt that." Bedivere understood. She had a far more nuanced perspective, one that he could understand, and one that others would likely criticize her for._

"Hey, it's warmup time." Bedivere snapped out of his daze, as he found himself staring at Artoria, who was lightly kicking his leg. "...right." he mumbled, as he then got up and followed the head coach's lead in warmup.

"did you get a sense of deja vu just recently?" Bedivere asked Artoria, as she looked towards her. "No. Why ask? Did you have one?"

Bedivere scratched his head, as he wondered why he asked such a random question. "No, it's nothing. Let's continue this conversation never." Artoria slightly chuckled at his words, before proceeding to follow the coach's lead, as Bedivere tried to comprehend what had just happened.

_"It feels so wrong..."_

* * *

**Well, I suppose that ends the chapter there. As always, please either review or PM me, do give all criticisms that you want.**

**Now for response to your reviews:**

**ZenoZen: Kay is in the story, I'm confirming that. Palamedes...that's a bit more debatable in terms of significance, as he's not so prominent in Arthurian stories. about your dislike for the proposition of a possible romance between Bedi and Arturia, hopefully I can write out something that'll be satisfying to read.**

**MS11: Thank you for the positive reception. I find it funny that for your obsession with grammar, you still manage to misspell the given word twice as "grammer."**

**ZilverHope: Thank you for the suggestion, I hadn't thought of that. I'll have fun with that.**


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